Chapter XII: Part I: A Vindication

BY

JOHN R. BOLLES.

THE PATHWAY OF THE YEARS.

An onward path we have to tread,
We cannot see the way.
Faith, love and hope their radiance shed,
Here and thus far the years have led;
But of the steps that lie ahead
We know not one to-day.

Then pause, look back and courage take;
How bright the road appears!
Each foot that trod there helped to break
Rough places down, and for our sake
Were lived the lives that shining make
The pathway of the years.

Backward it reaches, firm and sure
The steps that trod the way,
In simple homes, with purpose pure,
Faith to inspire, hope to allure;
Men wrought for ends that still endure
And make us strong to-day.

The days to come are all unread,
Unguessed by hopes or fears;
But press with courage high ahead,
For still there grows beneath our tread,
The highway grand, by pilgrims made,
The pathway of the years.

We come of heroes! Be each soul
Loyal like theirs, and free,
A shrine of honor, a white scroll;
That, as life’s pages fresh unroll,
They who then read, may find the goal
We sought was heavenly.

MARY L. BOLLES BRANCH.

A VINDICATION.